A Bad Day Out
by J-Mith
Summary: The team head off on their road trip but when disaster strikes they must come together in order to make sure that everyone makes it out of the situation alive. Mainly centred around Connie.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! So this if my first story for Casualty. I've just seen the trailer for the next ep and it looks amazing and intense. I can't wait! so I've decided to write a fic to ease my excitement. hope you guys enjoy it! :)**

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It was a quiet day at the office Connie had informed a selected number of staff memebers that she wanted to show them what the hospital could turn into if they failed to follow her vision and take her advice on board. Ash was reluctant at first but soon caved, Ethan was of course excited and Lilly, well Lilly locked herself in the staff room to research the hospital they were set to visit. The doctor had been mesmerised by Mrs Beauchamp the minute she walked through the ED doors, the power in Connie's walk made Lilly in ore of her, the way she turned heads and how everyone stopped talking when she was present inspired her to crack down on with her research and studies even more than she had before. After Connie had informed the doctors of her road trip she informed Nurse Bateman. Tension had been somewhat high between the pair over the Charlie retirement issue. Tess was still convinced that Charlie was irreplaceable and Connie opposite thinking that he could be replaced with someone less expensive. Tension aside Tess agreed that it was a great opportunity for the doctors and herself to view work at another hospital and potentially gain some ideas that could improve their place of work.

The group got seated in the vehicle the hospital had provided as transportation. Connie placed herself in the front passenger seat, Ash behind the wheel and the two trainee doctors and nurse Bateman in the rear seats of the vehicle.

"Who's navigating?" Ash asked.

"I know how to read and direct from maps so it should be me." replied Lilly.

"Honestly, the hospital cant even afford to hire Sat Navs now." Tess said.

"Trust me when i get back ill be having words with Guy myself!" Connie replied confidently. "So shall we go? The clinical lead wont wait all day!" with that Ash put the car in motion following the directions of Lilly.

Twenty minutes into the journey and the group were in the country side. Tess was admiring the scenery from the rear windows, Ethan was reading one of his ever so boring novels, Lilly was of course following the map making sure that they were on the right course and Connie was on her phone to Grace. Connie had left Grace at home with her daughters nanny, Grace had called her mother because she wanted to go visit Elliot Hope at work. Connie wasn't happy about having a conversation with her daughter in front of her employees, she wanted to keep her private life private, she wanted to keep up the appearance of being the cold hearted ice queen that everyone thought she was.

"Grace you know Elliot is busy with his work" Connie said through the phone quietly.

"But Mum! You said I could visit him today!" Grace replied.

Connie remembered the conversation she had had with her daughter, she had in fact promised her that she could see Elliot today.

"I know what I said Gracie" Connie replied this time a bit louder that made the other passengers focus their attention on her. "But I'm not going to be back till late and he'll be long gone by then. Listen I'll take you to see him tomorrow."

"But i want to go today! Mum you promised me!" Connie was getting more agitated with her daughter, she placed her hand on her forehead with frustration. "Cant Heather take me?" Grace asked pleadingly.

"Grace I don't think she'll want to do that." Connie replied with a sigh.

"I've already asked and she said she would but to ask you first. Pleeeeaase." Grace knew how to work her mum, she was very much like Connie in the way that she could get her own way with ease.

"Ok. Ok. But you need to make sure that you ring Elliot first. I don't want you to hinder his work. If he says he's busy then you let it go. Ok?"

"Ok mum. Thank you!"

"Ok darling. Now I'll see you later, be good for Heather and I'll be back to finish that bedtime story."

"You promise?"

"I promise. I love you."

"I love you too mum, see you later."

With that the clinical lead ended the call and placed her phone back into her pocket.

"Never took you as a pushover." Ash said with a smile, Lilly's eyes looked up above the map and the other passengers had a quiet giggle to themselves. Connie was in fact human, they'd just heard proof of that.

"I guess i am when it comes to my daughter. She certainly knows how to play me!" Connie replied to everyone's surprise. Although she liked to look hard on the outside, it was nice to let out her softer side out every now and again.

"She sounds sweet." Said Tess.

"She is. Thank you Tess."

Lilly returned her eyes to the map and frowned.

"Wait! I think we've missed a turn." Lilly stated. "I think we should have taken that last left turn. Dammit!" Connie looked around to see the back three passengers and started to loosen her belt slightly so she could turn around fully.

"What should I do?" asked Ash.

"Carry on I'll take a look at the map" replied Connie. With that she swivelled around and reached through the back to get a better look at the map. Just as she placed her hands on it, she heard a screech of tires swerving and then nothing. Everything went black.

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**So that the first Chapter let me know what you think and don't forget to review. Just lets me know if people are interested or not**.


	2. Chapter 2

**HI! I'd like to start with thanking those that have reviewed, I really do appreciate it :) I've decided that I'm not going to follow what the trailer insinuates (Kinda makes it more fun). I know that a few of you were giving me tips about the trailer, I DIDNT KNOW THAT THERE WERE TWO TRAILERS! So thanks for letting me know! wouldn't have found out over wise. So anyway I hope you enjoy this longer instalment.**

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She could hear a scream and the sound of something being moved. Connie couldn't move, she couldn't open her eyes and she couldn't shout for help. All she could do was listen to the commotion that was happening around her.

"Lilly I can't lift it, it's too heavy. I'm going to place this coat over your leg wound to try and stem the bleeding." She heard Tess say.

"Ok. I'll keep the pressure on it, you check on Ethan I don't think he's conscious." Lilly replied through gritted teeth. From Lilly's voice Connie could tell that the young doctor was in a lot of pain.

"Ethan!" Tess called, trying to get Ethan's attention, Connie could tell by the frantic tone of Tess's voice that something was desperately wrong. "Ethan you need to wake up!" Why wasn't Ethan answering Connie thought to herself. A shooting pain down Connie's left arm and another pain from her head made her lose concentration and again black out.

"Lilly I can't get through to Ethan, can you see if Connie and Ash are ok?" Tess asked worriedly.

"I don't see any movement they both must be unconscious. You'd better check their vitals." Lilly stated as she tired to adjust herself to get a better view of the pair in the front of the overturned vehicle. Tess negotiated herself around Ethan and guided herself through the vehicle, as she took each step the the car creaked through the strain of the weight shifting from one end of the vehicle to the other.

"Be careful Tess. The car is on its side we don't want to shift the car upside down." said Lilly.

"I'm trying Lilly its not as easy as you think." replied Tess in a harsher way than she intended. Within a few seconds the nurse reached the two unconscious doctors. The sight in front of her was shocking. Tess moved closer to Connie so that she could see all of her injuries, the doctors face was turned away from the nurse so she couldn't she if Connie had any head injuries. However, the nurse could see the injury that was to her arm. Connie's wrist was trapped under the cars frame where the window joined the car, it must have happened when the window smashed Tess thought to herself. Connie was losing a lot of blood and from what Tess could tell the wrist was broken from the sight of the bone leaving the wound. Connie couldn't be moved Tess thought to herself with that thought she turned her attention to a stirring Ash.

"Wha.. Wha.." Ash murmured. Tess moved over to where Ash was lying, she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Ash we've been involved in an accident. Can you hear me?" Tess tried to make her voice sound as calm as possible, the last thing she needed was Ash panicking.

"Where are we?" he asked starting to sound a little clearer.

"I'm not sure. We were a little off track, took a wrong turn somewhere." Tess replied.

"How are you? Is anyone hurt?" Ash eased himself up into a sitting position and started to look around to gather his bearings.

"I'm fine. Just a small laceration on my forehead, nothing that cant be stitched up. As for everyone else, Ethan unconscious with what looks like a serious head wound. I can't see anything else but that doesn't mean he doesn't have any internal damage. Connie is also unconscious, from what i can tell she has a serious wrist break. Her wrist is trapped underneath the vehicle so theres no moving her. As for Lilly, her leg is pinned under a heavy piece of debris, i've got her to put pressure on her wound so the bleeding is stemmed for the time being."

"What a disaster." Ash stated as he brushed the sweat from his brow. "Ok. Have you notified the emergency services?"

"No. My phone was in my bag in the boot along with Ethan's and Lilly's. I was hoping that you had one."

"I left mine in my locker back at Holby, the battery was almost dead."

"Connie was on the phone to her daughter earlier" Lilly shouted through to the front "I think she put it in her trouser pocket."

Both Tess and Ash looked over to the unconscious doctor.

"Right Tess you try and find Connie's phone and I'll try and get the debris off of Lilly to free her. We don't know how stable this vehicle is so we need to move as fast as we can." Ash stated.

Tess shuffled back over to Connie while Ash navigated himself through to where Lilly was located. Tess didn't feel comfortable rummaging through Connie's pockets but needs must and their needs far outweighed Tess's feelings of discomfort. Tess searched Connie's first pocket on her right side that was in easy reach but no phone was found. The other pocket wasn't as easily accessible, Tess had to move Connie from her side laying position to her lying on her back. From turning Connie over the nurse could now see Connie's face and could evaluate her head injury. From what Tess could see it wasn't as bad as Ethan's but the wrist injury was however a different story. Tess fished around in the newly accessible pocket and took the phone that was located inside.

"I've got it!" Tess shouted through to the back.

"Ok call in the rescue." Ash replied.

The phone was still intact to Tess's surprise and relief. She began dialling the important numbers. 9,9,9 and pressed dial.

"Hello Emergency services, whats your emergency."

"Hello!" Tess replied frantically. "We've been involved in a car accident, we work at Holby general we were on our way to another hospital when another vehicle crashed into the side of us."

"Ok miss, please calm down. I need you to tell me where you are and how many passengers are in the vehicle." replied the operating trying to calm the frantic nurse down.

"I don't know where exactly we are, I do know that we were slightly off course when we crashed. As for the number of people in the vehicle there are five people including myself. I don't know the condition of the person or people who crashed into us."

"Ok your doing great. We can pinpoint your location through the GPS through the phone you are using. Now whats your name miss?"

"It's Tess Bateman. Nurse Tess Bateman."

"Ok Tess, help is on it's way. Now do you know the condition of your colleagues and what injuries they may have?" The questions from the operator was indeed to get a background of the situation but also to try and get the caller focused and to stop them from freaking out.

"We have two passengers unconscious. Connie has a minor head injury and her arm is trapped under the vehicle. I think there is definitely a break there. Ethan has a major head injury, I think there could possibly be some internal damage there from the position he is in." just as Tess was finishing her evaluation of Ethan's injuries she heard a scream that sounded like it came from Lilly. Tess looked over to see that Ash had removed the debris from her leg. However, now they could see that her leg was indeed broken and blood was seeping through the open wound that was there. Ash changed the position of the coat that was stemming the bleeding prior and put more pressure on the wound. Tess's attention was brought back by the voice of the operator trying to get her attention back to her on the phone.

"Tess! Tess! What's happening?" asked the operator, her voice slightly louder than it had been before.

"Lilly's leg was pinned by a large piece of debris, one of my colleagues have just removed it. It looks like she has a leg break and a large open wound on the leg. Ash and myself are ok, we have minor wounds that aren't anything to worry about. How far off are the emergency crews?" Tess asked after giving the operator an overview of the situation.

"They'll be with you shortly. I want you to stay on the phone until the..." The voice was cut off. Tess looked at the phone and saw that the battery was in fact dead. She looked through to the rear of the vehicle and over to the still body of Ethan. I hope they hurry, she said to herself quietly while clutching Connie's undamaged and free hand between her own shaking hands.

BACK AT HOLBY

"Can i have everyone's attention please!" Charlie shouted above the chatter from his co workers. Everyone quietened down the second Charlie started speaking "As you know there has been a major RTC. I've just been informed by the ambulance crew that are on root to the scene that it is in fact our team that are involved in this collision." The minute Charlie finished Cal rested his arms on the desk closest to him and put his head in his hands. Was he really hearing this right, his brother had been involved in a major car collision? His trailed from his thoughts and focused his attention once more on Charlie who again started to speak.

"We need to be on top of our game when the injured arrive. I know this is personal for almost all of you, but we need to focus on getting the injured well and treating them with the best of our abilities." The entire group of Holby workers nodded in unison. "I've called Dr Hannah who has agreed to meet the ambulance crew at the crash site. I've also called down Elliot Hope who will be able to help with some of the more seriously injured. Now everyone take some deep breathes and lets get this ward ready for their arrival." With that the team dispersed to prepare for the arrival of their injured colleagues, all but Cal who remained stood there thinking worriedly about the condition of this brother.

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**So thanks for reading and I hope to hear what you think about this new chapter! :) **


	3. Chapter 3

**So I don't know when I'm going to be able to update next (hopefully tomorrow night!) so here's another chapter. Im also away on business this weekend so it looks like I'll be waiting a little longer for the next Casualty episode (which SUCKS!) I guess that's when BBC iPlayer becomes my saviour. Anyway thanks again for the amazing reviews and enjoy!**

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If the murmuring next to Tess didn't grab her attention the squeeze of her hand certainly did. Connie was starting to regain consciousness. Slowly she began to open her eyes only to shut them again due to the sunlight reflecting of the broken glass pieces that were scattered everywhere.

"Connie!" she heard. "Connie!" she heard again.

"Gracie is that you?" Connie replied with confusion. Where was she? Why couldn't she move and why was she in so much pain?

"No Connie. It's Tess. We've been involved in a car accident, don't you remember?" Tess asked. Tess didn't receive a reply, Connie's condition was worrying her. "Ash!" Tess called through to the back.

"Yeah?" he replied poking his head through from the back. "She's awake?" he asked.

"She is but she seems very confused which i guess is understandable. Should we try to move her?" Tess asked unsure as to what to do for the best.

"No. If we move her she could lose her hand or at least a mass amount of function. We don't know what sort of damage there is from it being crushed." The mention of the possibility of losing her hand grabbed Connie's attention.

"Your not having my hand!" she shouted nervously, eyes fully open and trying to move from the laying position she was in "I wont let you!" An intense shooting pain shot itself up through her arm from her moving "Ahhhh!..." She screamed. Ash placed his hands on Connie's shoulders and pushed her gently back down to the position she was in before, she hadn't sat up far. "You need to keep still your wrist is pinned under the car if you move you'll just aggravate the wound and make it worse." stated Ash. She was now lying on her back looking up at both Ash and Tess who both looked scared and worried. A tear trickled down her cheek.

"Your going to be ok." said Tess with a half-hearted smile "Hows the pain?" she asked.

"Honestly?" Connie replied. Trying to sit up had really weakened her. "I can't feel my wrist, which isn't a good thing right? But my head is pounding, feels like i got hit by a truck pardon the pun." Not being able to feel the pain in her wrist was a really bad thing Connie knew that.

"I'm sorry about the comment about losing your hand, it was extremely insensitive of me." Ash said feeling regretful about his earlier comment. Connie wiped the stray tear with her good hand off of her face and gave a small smile as if to say don't worry about it.

"Lets face it its a possibility." she stated. Her thoughts suddenly swept to thinking about the other occupants of the car. "Hows Lilly and Ethan?" Connie asked.

"Well Lilly has a leg break which was pinned but now free and Ethan..." Tess paused as she looked at the young male doctor.

Ash continued for her. "Ethan has a major head injury that I've tried my best to deal with and has other possible internal injuries from the discolouration of his chest. Theres nothing we can do until the rescue arrives."

"Mrs Beauchamp, glad to hear your conscious!" shouted Lilly from the back. "How are you feeling?"

"Its not one of my better day, hows the leg Dr Chao?" Connie replied thankful for the concern. Lilly was a very promising pupil she reminded her of herself, stoic on the outside but soft on the inside.

"Its not one of my better days." Chao replied with a smile mirroring the answer her boss had previously given.

Connie smiled back at the reply, that smile was quickly wiped off of her face when she again felt the shooting pain through her arm. She took in some deep breathes that were noticed by the two in front of her.

"I'm going to try and climb out of here and flag down the ambulance when it arrives. Tess can you keep an eye on everyone?" said Ash as he started to look for a way out of the wreckage.

"Of course. Be careful though I cant deal with another injury." Tess replied concerned for his safety.

Ash could hear the sirens in the distance and swiftly climbed on top of the side of the car. As he reached the top he could see the ambulances.

"They're here!" he shouted back down to those still trapped inside the vehicle. He started waving his arms in the air grabbing the attention of the drivers.

He saw Dixie point to him for Jeff to drive in their direction. Dixie was the first to get out of the ambulance and reach the car with medical bags in hand.

"Any change?" Dixie asked Ash as he hopped down from the top of the car.

"Connie is now conscious but still unable to move. She also has no feeling of the hand that is pinned. Ethan is still unconscious and i think Lilly's leg is still losing blood, she's going to need a transfusion." After Ash had informed Dixie of everything, he started to sway as if to faint but managed to regain his composure with a little help from Tamzin that had just arrived at his side.

"Right were going to check you out in the ambulance and dress that head wound." Ash was about to speak but Tamzin gave the no nonsense look that persuaded him against arguing. Tamzin led Ash away from the vehicle as Jeff and Mac arrived at Dixie's side.

"Hows it look?" asked Mac.

"Were going to need the fire-crew to cut the top half of the car off so we can reach them better." Dixie replied.

"Can't we go through the lower part of the windshield? That way we can administer the drugs and then let the fire-crew in to sort out getting them out. I'll also be able to get a better idea of the situation." stated Jeff.

"Ok. You get on with that and ill inform the fire-crew what were doing." with that Dixie left to speak to the firemen and Jeff went into a prone position and crawled through the narrow gap that was previously missed by Ash.

"Jeff!" Tess shouted with relief clear on her face.

"Nice to see you too Tess. How are you Mrs B?" Jeff said looking down at the Doctor that was growing weaker and paler by the minute.

"Not so good I'm afraid Jeff. You've got your work cut out for you here." She'd stopped pretending to be fine the minute Ash left the car, Tess had been asking about Connie's daughter to distract her from the pain she was enduring but it didn't seem to help all that much.

"Well I'm gonna pump some morphine through you to ease that pain." with that Jeff got out his syringe and injected her with a dose of morphine. "You know the drill it'll take a few moments for it to take effect." Connie nodded showing she understood. Jeff did the same for Lilly and then moved over to the motionless Ethan.

"Ethan mate, can you hear me?" no answer. Jeff reached for his pen torch and shone the light in Ethan eyes. "No response to light and pulse is weak. Mac?!"

"Jeff?"

"Mac, tell Dixie that we need to get Ethan out now. He hasn't got much time."

"Righto. I'll tell her now." Off Mac went to hurry up the rescue team. As he reached Dixie and the team another car arrived at the scene. The door flung open and out stepped Dr Hannah.

"What have we got?" Dr Hannah asked his haste.

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**Im kinda already missed Dr Hannah in the show. Miss that tension between Zoe and Connie So I decided to write her back in early. anyway guys thanks for reading and I'll try and update soon. Don't forget to review :) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys so it's been so long I've been on holiday! The is a short chapter because I wanted to get one up quick**!

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The team had updated Zoe on the situation, she quickly put on a pair of rubber gloves and changed into a medical jump suit that was in the rear of one of the ambulances. The team was gathered waiting for instructions as Zoe approached them.

"Ok. The first thing we need to do is get Ethan out of that car, he is in the most critical condition and is deteriorating quickly. After we have Ethan out we'll concentrate our attention on Connie who is also in a serious condition. We need to move fast so lets get going." The instructions were brief but everyone had experience with situations like this it was best to just get moving and get this dealt with as quick as possible.

Zoe entered the wreaked car and sat herself beside Jeff who was still inside the vehicle.

"Well look who's back." he said whilst grinning.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to stay away for long. People like us never do." spoke Connie From her pinned position.

"Well its a good job i did. Look what happens when I leave." Zoe replied humorously. "Don't take this the wrong way but you look crap."

"I have an excuse to look crap but you don't." Connie countered with a smile and small cough.

"I see the crash hasn't knocked you off your throne." Zoe replied whilst checking Connie's pulse.

"Never." she replied a little weaker and quieter than she had before. Zoe gave Connie a concerned look before turning her attention to Jeff.

"How is everyone else?" Zoe asked Jeff.

"Tess is in the back seeing to Lilly and Ethan. Ethan's in a bad way so you'd better get over there. I'll look after the princess" Jeff replied winking at Connie. With that Zoe climbed through to the back and began checking Ethan's vitals.

"Has he regained consciousness at any point?" Zoe asked Tess.

"No. He's been out since the impact and has been getting worse, his pulse is weak and he seems to have lost a lot of blood from his head wound." Zoe began treating Ethan, at the same time the fire-brigade began making preparations to cut through the top of the car in order to be able to lift the injured out by harness.

"Ethan. Ethan can you hear me?" Zoe asked whilst taking hold of the young doctors hand. "Ethan if you can hear me squeeze my hand." It had taken him a few seconds and it was hardly noticeable but Ethan had reacted on squeezed Zoe's hand. At that point there was shout from one of the firemen.

"Get low down and cover your faces were cutting the top of the car off now!" With that all that were able covered there faces and then aided those that couldn't. The top of the car was cut off in next to no time exposing those that were on the inside of the vehicle to the fresh air that they ever so needed. Zoe was the first to react and began assessing how they were going to remove Ethan moving causing him more damage. She moved over to where Connie was still pinned. "So what do you think?" Zoe asked looking over to where Ethan lay.

"Sounds like a possible Pneumothorax from what Tess has described would have to look to be sure." Connie replied deep in thought. Her pain had dipped slightly due to the Morphine that Jeff had given her.

"I agree, his chest is bruised and breathing is shallow pressure on the lungs could certainly cause that. I think were going to have to get a board in here to get him out don't you?"

"Yeah safest possible way. You don't want to cause more internal damage than he already has." Connie replied

"Are you going to be okay?" Zoe asked with a worried frown. Connie was certainly a lot paler than she had been the last the Zoe checked on her, Zoe's concern was the blood loss from Connie's wrist.

"Worry about Ethan, I'm fine." Connie said sternly. Tess approached the pair again. "Look I have Tess to watch over me, you go help Ethan. Tess nodded in agreement.

Zoe looked over to Tess "Any change in her don't hesitate to give me a shout. Nobody is going to die today!" she said before retrieving the board that Dixie had lowered into the vehicle.

Getting Ethan out was more difficult than Zoe had first thought. The space in which she had to operate was tight and there was very little space to move around. Zoe and Jeff slowly managed to shuffled Ethan onto the board and attach the harnesses to the correct places so that the fire crew could winch the injured doctor up and into the care of those that were outside the vehicle. Once Ethan had been winched out he was rushed into the nearest ambulance and driven to Holby where his brother was eagerly waiting. During the commotion of getting Ethan out Connie had started to feel quite faint. She thought at first it was due to the head injury that she had sustained but only when she looked down at her trapped hand did she notice that the vehicle had lowered from the movement of rescuing Ethan and crushed her wrist even more meaning that her blood loss had increased massively. From this realisation Connie returned to the familiar darkness that she experienced not long after the two cars had impacted.

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**So there we go :) hope you enjoyed and don't forget to leave a comment on how you think it's progressing! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Another chapter before tomorrow's episode! :)**

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The atmosphere of the hospital was grim, everyone was rushing about trying to deal with patients quickly in order to be able to return to their injured colleagues. Charlie had rung Guy Self to see if he could get some more Doctors down on the floor. To Charlie's surprise Elliot Hope had been sent down to assist Cal with the care of his brother Ethan who was on his way to Holby. Elliot approached Charlie, as the surgeon got closer Charlie could see a young girl clutching onto his hand. Charlie could tell the young girl had been crying due to the redness of her eyes. She looked familiar he thought to himself, was Elliot treating her? Was she a patient?

"Charlie" Elliot called "Any news? I came down as soon as i heard!" He continued frantically.

"Ethan is on his way in and will be treated by yourself and Cal. Lilly has been seen to and is recovering in a cubicle. Connie from what I've heard from the ambulance crew still at the scene is still trapped." at that moment the young girl burst into tears, Elliot enveloped the girl into a hug and whispered soothing words into her ear to try and calm her down. For a second Charlie thought he heard the girl cry out 'mum' and then it dawned on him. She looked so much like her mother, the hazel coloured eyes, the freckles on her cheeks, of course it was Connie's daughter. It was Grace.

_-Back at the crash site -_

The crash site was a little less chaotic now that Ethan had been removed from the overturned vehicle and was on his way to Holby. The fire crew was now trying to come up with a way to lift the vehicle in order to release Connie's hand without causing much disturbance within the vehicle itself. Connie was still unconscious from the movement of when Ethan was released. Jeff had joined Dixie outside the vehicle but both Tess and Zoe remained inside keeping an eye on Connie.

"What are you thinking?" Tess asked Zoe.

"I'm thinking she's loosing too much blood. Maybe we should think of plan B." Zoe replied

"She'd never forgive you." Tess replied sternly disagreeing to what Zoe was implying.

"I think she'd rather live and see her daughter again." Zoe countered.

"She'd never be able to operate or treat a patient again! She made it quite clear earlier that amputation was not on the cards. You know she lives for the job." Tess was right Connie would never forgive Zoe if she amputated her hand but Zoe could never forgive herself if Connie died and she didn't do everything she could to save her life. Whichever decision she made would be the wrong one. All she could do is hope that the fire-crew found a way to get her out in one piece alive.

-_Back at Holby -_

Elliot had taken Grace into her mothers office in order to give her a bit of privacy and gather her thoughts. She sat on the sofa twiddling her fingers nervously. Elliot sat at the other side of her with his hand rubbing soothing circles on her back.  
"She's a fighter your mother" Elliot spoke. Grace looked across to him tears threatening to return. "She wont give in." he stated with a small smile. There was a knock on the door, Elliot beckoned them in. The door opened to reveal Charlie with two cups of what looked and smelt like hot chocolate.  
"Ethan's arrived." Charlie stated looking at Elliot. "There going to need you, I'll look after Grace." he continued. Elliot returned his eyes to Grace who nodded to that it was fine to leave.  
"I'll be back as soon as i can" he told her "everything is going to be fine" he stated as he was leaving.  
With that Charlie shut the door and claimed the seating position that Elliot had been in moments before. He handed the hot chocolate to Grace who thanked him in turn.  
"How are you holding up kiddo?" Charlie asked taking a sip his cup. This was replied with a shrug of Grace's shoulders. "You know, I haven't known your mother for long but I do know her well enough to know that she wont give in without a fight. She had the best medical team out there looking after her and they'll do everything in their power to bring her home to you." Charlie always had a way with words, he was always the best person to deal with the grieving family members and those awaiting news of a loved one. This time felt slightly different to those other times though, he'd always been so detached when speaking to those people, but Grace was a relative of one of there own and he couldn't help but feel attached and share the concern and nervousness that she was feeling. He couldn't help but let his mind drift to what was happening out there.

-_Crash Site-_

Connie began to regain consciousness yet again, she felt a warm hand holding her cold free one. She opened her eyes slowly to reveal the face of Zoe Hannah who was smiling at the waking Dr.  
"Nice to see you back with us." she said placing two fingers against Connie's neck to check her pulse. "You need to stop leaving us like that."  
"Did Ethan get out ok, had got a pneumothorax?" Connie asked whilst still trying to regain her bearings and adjust to the light that was glaring through the front of the vehicle. Zoe made an involuntary sound in reply to the question.  
"Your in a serious situation yourself and your still being the Doctor and thinking about others. I think i got you wrong Connie." Zoe stated. "I must admit that this situation has made me see you in a different light, hell, i think I've even gained respect for you. You put on this hard, robotic, professional shell but i've come to realise that you only do that to protect those that work with you, to try and get the best out of those that are talented, you do actually care about your colleagues."

"Are you sure you haven't hit your head too?" Connie replied with a chuckle. The two Doctors gazed at each other, through that gaze two words were communicated, those two words were 'thank you'. Tess understood what the pair were communicating, if Connie survived this, she knew that the two Doctors in front of her could make Holby the best hospital in the country. She just hoped that they could find a solution to this mess sooner rather than later.

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**And so that concludes that chapter! Hope you enjoyed this instalment, make sure to let me know what you think by leaving a review :) thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I know it's been a while I've got no excuses so here's the next updat even! Hopefully the next updates will be quicker. :)**

The fire-crew informed Connie and her colleagues of the plan that would free Connie's hand and enable Jeff and Zoe to slide the injured former surgeon out of the vehicle. The plan was for Jeff and Zoe to remain in the vehicle with Connie, they were to hold her in place while the winch on the fire engine tilted the car up slightly in order to give enough room to move Connie's hand out of the way. Zoe was to remain inside incase there was a huge bleed that needed dealing with.

"Connie did you catch all of that?" Zoe asked unsure that Connie was fully conscious.

"Yeah. Yeah. They'll lift, I'll move and you'll fix my hand up."

"In a nutshell, yeah." Zoe replied smiling. "Tess has been taken back to the hospital by Tamzin and Dixie. As soon as we get you out your going straight into Jeff and Dixie's ambulance. You ready?"

"I'm ready." Connie answered shakily taking in a deep breath to try and settle her nerves. Zoe gave the fire-crew the thumbs up and took hold of Connie's free hand. Jeff took hold of Connie's legs to keep her in place. The sound of the winch starting up made Connie flinch slightly but that was nothing compared to the excruciating pain that began to trail up her arm. She screamed out loud as the car moved.

"We need to stop!" Zoe shouted to Jeff worried about the chilling scream from her Boss. Jeff began to move but was stopped by a determined voice.

"No!" shouted Connie "Keep going" she continued through gritted teeth and what sounded like a hint of desperation for the this whole event to be put behind her. The car lifted suddenly revealing Connie's terribly shredded and bloodied hand. Zoe was in shock from the site of it and Connie had passed out due to the pain and possibly blood loss. Jeff however had quickly sprung into action and had begun moving the injured arm out of the way from the car incase it suddenly came crashing down. Zoe recovered from her shock and started putting antiseptic and bandages over the open wound to stop the bleeding. Once the wound was covered Jeff slid under the gap that was created by lifting the car, Zoe moved Connie so that Jeff could pull her out by the legs. Once Connie was removed from the vehicle Zoe followed enabling her to take a better look at the wound.

"How's it look?" Jeff asked whilst cautiously lifting Connie onto a gurney.

"Not good. Looks like there is severe bone damage and tendon damage. Saving it is going to be touch and go I reckon. I'll ring Holby see if we can get a specialist to meet us when we get back."

**Back at Holby**

Tess had arrived at the hospital and made her way straight to Ethan who had been brought in earlier. She entered the room and was greeted by a smiling Cal and Elliot. "How is he?" Tess asked

"He's going to be fine thanks to Dr Hope." Cal replied patting Elliot on the back.

"And Lilly?" Tess asked.

"She's wanting to know when she can get back to work." Elliot replied with a chuckle. His chuckle suddenly disappeared at the thought of his dear friend still out there. "How are you?" Elliot asked as he approached the nurse slowly.

"Just a few cuts and bruises really. I came off as one of the lucky ones."

Elliot was now within touching distance, his face had gone somewhat paler than it had been before.

"And Connie?" Elliot asked his voice shaking slightly.

"Elliot..." She paused and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Its not looking good. When I left they were preparing to lift the car to release her. Zoe mentioned amputation to get her out."

Elliot stared at Tess in disbelief whilst Cal rubbed his eyes and sighed.

"Its really been a bad day out hasn't it?" spoke the waking Ethan behind them. Cal rushed over to his brother and took his hand in his own.

"How are you feeling bro?" Cal asked with concern. Ethan looked at his brother somewhat confused by his strange and unusual behaviour.

"Sore and tired." Ethan replied weakly.

"You get some rest ill be right outside if you need me." Replied Cal. Everyone filtered outside as they exited the doors Charlie came rushing towards them.

"It's Connie" He stated "They're on route and their asking for you Elliot."

**In the ambulance**.

She couldn't keep herself still. She was sliding from side to side. She could feel the warm blood gushing down her left arm but could no longer feel the pain anymore. She was out the car but at what cost she thought to herself as she felt a pair of hands press what felt like cotton down on injured arm.

"How you doing Zo?" shouted Jeff from the driver seat of the ambulance. The loud sound of the siren was making it difficult to hear but Zoe got the gist of it.

"She's losing a lot of blood i'm applying as much pressure as i can but the blood keeps coming through the bandages." Zoe wiped the sweat from her forehead with the sleeve on her arm.

With her good hand yet extremely shaky hand Connie slowly moved the oxygen mask from her mouth to enable her to speak.

"NoNo you keep that on" said Zoe softly.

"I need.. I need you to do something for me" stuttered Connie whilst once again removing the oxygen mask that Zoe had replaced. She looked at Zoe determinedly whilst Zoe nodded in agreement. " I need you to tell G-Grace that I'm s- sorry." it was evident that the once surgeon was struggling to tell Zoe what it was she wanted urging Zoe to listen intently and drop her head so close that their noses were almost touching. "I n-need you to tell her that-that I wish I had been a better mother. That I wished I had spent more time with her." There was now a few tears rolling down her face Zoe in turn had tears threatening to spill.

"You can tell her yourself, your going to make it Connie and your going to be able to tell Grace how much you love her." Connie nodded weakly hoping that Zoe was right but deep down knowing that her fate was balancing on a fine line. Jeff shouted something from the front that was inaudible but they soon realised what it was when the sirens made a honking noise indicating that they had arrived at Holby General.

**Holby Entrance.**

Charlie had once again joined Grace in her mothers office in order to keep her from seeing her mother in a state that would haunt the child for the rest of her life. Elliot and Tess had rushed to the ambulance drop off point and was joined soon after by Rita. The sound of the sirens grew ever nearer as they shuffled their feet nervously from one place to another. Tess placed a comforting hand on Elliot's shoulder as the ambulance came racing in. It was in fact a race against time Elliot just prayed they were given enough time to save his dear friend.

**Chapter 6 complete! I'm wanting to finish this story so I can move onto another idea that I have. Let me know if there is anything that you'd like me to incorporate into the story and ill try my best to include it!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Wow guys I'm surprised that there is still so many of you reading this after me leaving it so long! Thanks for the nice reviews I've had and the suggestions as to what to include. they're all great ideas some of which I will putting into my story so thanks :) anyway another short update follows :) **

Connie lay on the gurney that was being rushed through the hospital she looked up at the bright hospital lights and reflected on the life she had lived. She had most certainly accomplished a lot in terms of her working life she had done everything she had ever wanted in those aspects. She had been Director of Surgery, run her own research campaign and was now clinical lead in emergency medicine. Having done all of that and achieved more than what most people achieve in a lifetime Connie still felt a large black void in her heart. Although she had given birth to a beautiful daughter she hadn't been a proper mother, she hadn't been there to tuck her daughter in at night, to read her stories, to listen to her silly childhood problems and for that Connie would regret. If she could take all of those accomplishments away and be the mother she wanted to be she would.

The sound of Zoe's voice brought her away from her thoughts.

"Connie Beauchamp. 42 year old female involved in a major RTC. She's tachycardic, oxygen saturation is slow and shes lost at least 30% of her blood volume. She's had major trauma to the head possible concussion and has a serious injury to her right arm. She's been in and out of consciousness and is at the minute responsive." Zoe wasn't going to leave Connie's side she was going to see her treatment through to the end.

"Connie can you hear me? It's Elliot." Elliot said shining a light in Connie's eye whilst at the same time moving with the gurney.

"Elliot?" Connie asked lifting her uninjured hand up. In turn Elliot clasped it in his own. The sight of his dear friend and usually one to keep her emotions to herself in such a state sent shivers down his spine and tears to his eyes.

"Yes Connie it's me. I'm going to make sure you get through this in one piece ok?" Connie nodded too weak to speak anymore.

"Ok lets get her into resus" Tess stated directing the gurney into the trauma room. They lifted Connie up onto one of the beds and Elliot and Zoe began to asses her.

"Ok lets do U's and e's and LFT's. Lets get some blood crossmatched." Zoe began directing as soon as Connie's body hit the bed. For the next few minutes everyone in the room was moving around frantically trying to get their bit done. Tess busied herself attaching wires and inserting pain relief into Connie. Zoe was listening to Connie's heart beat and checking her pulse. Elliot moved over to assess the injured arm.

"I think i can stop the bleeding lots like its coming from one of her arteries. As soon as the bleeding is stemmed I think.." As he was about to finish his sentence Connie mumbled something under her oxygen mask, shortly after her eyes rolled into the back of her head and the heart rate monitor began to beep erratically. Zoe quickly removed the stethoscope and sprang into action.

"Ok she's going into cardiac arrest!" Zoe shouted. Everyone moved into their positions, Tess cut through Connie's blouse and placed the pads in which Zoe placed the paddles on.

"SHOCKING!" Everyone stood back away from the bed. Although they had seen this before both Tess and Elliot flinched as Connie's body reacted to the shock.

"And again!" Zoe instructed. They waited a few seconds but still no change.

"Charge to 300. Shocking!" There was another pause until they heard the heart rate monitor beep again.

"We have output." Tess confirmed, releasing a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

"Ok we need to find out what caused that lets send her for a chest X-ray and CT scan and then we need to get her to theatre to sort out the arm." Zoe ordered still busing hresell reviewing Connie.

"It's going to be a long night." Tess said solumly passing Zoe to top up Connie's pain relief who was still unconscious from her cardiac arrest.

Elliot closed off the blood spilling artery and began lifting the railings up on Connie's bed. Max entered the room ready to take Connie for her chest Xray Zoe noticed this and approached him.

"I want her bumped up the waiting list if anyone gets in the way call me. Don't leave without the results." Max couldn't remember her acting this way with a patient before he didn't even think that Zoe liked Connie after everthing that went on with the Clinical Lead job and with Connie being the Ice Queen that she was well known for. With that Max started to wheel the bed to its destination with Elliot in tow. Before they left Elliotpulled Zoe to one side.

"Could you do me a favour?" He asked quietly so that no one else could hear.

"Of course, anything." Zoe replied enthusiastically wanting to do anything to help.

"Grace shouldn't be alone at this time. I know she has Charlie but I think she needs more than that." He knew that when Connie awoke and she heard about this she would be furious but Grace's needs at this time were more important than the fear of being in Connie's bad books. "I need you to make a long distance phone call for me and I need you to do it straight away."

**Connie's Office**

A knock at the door alerted both Charlie and an emotionally tired Grace. Grace looked at the individual walking into the office expectently. Zoe wasn't a child person she had never been able to get along with children very well. However Grace was very mature for her age which had a lot to do with having to fend for herself and having to grow a big backbone at such a young age. Zoe sat herself next to Charlie and wiped her brow.

"Hi Grace my names Zoe." Zoe said with a small smile. " I've been looking after your mum."

"She's here?!" Grace exclaimed "I want to see her!"

"Grace, your mum is very ill at the minute we've sent her to get a few tests done so we find out what's wrong with her. As soon as she's well enough I'll personally take you to see her"

"You mean you don't know whats wrong with her?" Grace asked slightly confused.

"Not quite no. But the tests that she's gone for should tell us." Zoe said. She didn't want to go into too much detail like saying that her mother heart had stopped because she didn't want to frighten her.

"My mum would know without doing tests. She's really clever you know, one of the best surgeons in the world." Grace replied proudly. At first Zoe thought it was an insult being thrown her way but after she knew that every child thought their parents were superheros.

"I'm sure she would." Charlie replied in Zoe's place.

"Listen Grace, I've made phone call for someone to take care of you while you mother is in hospital. Elliot gave me the number and they'll be here as soon as possible."

"I'm not going back with the Nanny! I hate the Nanny. And I don't want my Grandma either. I want to stay here so I can be here when mum gets back from her test." Grace had dramatically changed from the sweet little girl that Elliot and Charlie had been looking after to a little Madame with an attitude. In these circumstances it was to be expected but Zoe could see where Grace got her fire from.

"I haven't phoned either of them Grace. I've phoned your dad. He's on the plane back to England as we speak." Grace's face lit up.

"Dads coming here? To look after me and mum?" Grace asked gleefully. Charlie looked shocked he'd never seen Connie with a man before, he didn't even think her capable of having a daughter until he had met her. Connie wasn't one he expected to fall in love or have relationships although he didn't know whether Grace was a one night stand or not. Connie's personal life was a secret and now it was slowly unveiling itself bit by bit.

**CasualtyFanForever81 you may recognise an idea or two :) good thinking! More updates to follow thanks again for your patience! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's the next instalment let me know what you think.**

"Amputating her hand will be the end of her career. She'd never get over it! She lives to work!" Michael's frustration was clear they'd been going over the same argument over and over again.

"She has Grace, don't you think she'd give her hand so that she could see her daughter grow up into a woman, to see her daughter walk down the aisle or to help raise her grandchildren? Do you think she'd want to risk that future?" Elliot spat back also frustrated and angry.

"I have it here in writing from Dr Hannah that Connie refuses amputation." Michael replied holding a piece of paper in Elliot's face and pointing to notes.

"She wasn't in the right mind set to make that decision." Elliot replied shoving the paper from in front of his face onto the ground in between them.

"Elliot I know you love her but we wont lose her, I'll make sure of it. Lets get in there see what the situation is and take it from there. I'm good you know." With that Michael placed his surgical mask on and placed his rubber gloves on his hands, he slipped through the doors into theatre only to be shortly followed by Elliot.

During surgery Elliot had managed to stop the bleed, Michael had stitched the wound and re-modelled the bones. The pair had worked tirelessly for hours on end trying to find where the bleed was coming from and evaluating how badly the nerves were damaged. Connie was now back where she was originally admitted, Dr Hannah had cleared a private room so that they could all be close by if anything was to change. Grace hadn't left the hospital since her mothers admission in fear that she wouldn't be able to say goodbye if anything was to go wrong. Her mother had always said that she regretted not being able to say goodbye to her own mother, Grace didn't want to feel that regret. Zoe had nearly spend her whole unoccupied time with the young girl. The first night after the operation they'd gone into Connie's office to create some place to sleep. Zoe had always enjoyed the company of children and had plenty of experience babysitting. However Grace had clearly stated that she was old enough to take care of herself and didn't need babysitting. Zoe was adamant that'd she'd stay with Grace until her mother awoke and told her that they'd clear space for the both of them to sleep. The task of making the bed area turned more into a game with Zoe trying to make a den. Grace soon followed suit once she realised that it was taking her mind from the situation her mother was in. Although sleeping in the den wasn't comfy Zoe stayed with Grace, they chatted about her life, school, friends, what she wanted to be when she was older. They talked about anything that helped time go by quicker. Two days had gone by when Grace was finally cleared to go visit her mother.

"Your mum is still unconscious Grace and she's still in a critical condition." said Zoe looking down at a nervous looking Grace. All Zoe got in reply was a small nod before Grace stepped through the double doors into the private room that occupied her mother. As she walked in she heard the steady beep of the heart rate monitor. Tess was in the process of changing some of the bandages that were placed over various cuts that the clinical lead had sustained and Elliot was reading over Connie's notes making sure that everything was how it should be and that his friend was making a slow but steady recovery. Elliot looked up from the notes to see Grace slowly moving towards them, at the sight of her he smiled and reached a hand out for her to take hold of. Grace took hold of the hand in her own and let Elliot guide her over to her mothers beside. The young girl was hesitant to touch her mother due to her looking so fragile. Her mother just didn't look like her mother. She seemed to look so defeated, so drained.

"You can hold her hand you know." Elliot stated breaking the silence and looking worriedly at his godchild.

"Whats that tube coming out her mouth?" Grace asked looking up at the older man.

"It's called a trach tube, its to help your mum breathe until she wakes up." Elliot answered lowering himself to Graces level.

"Does it hurt her?" asked Grace. She was clearly getting worked up seeing her mother in this state.

"She's not in any pain at all." Elliot answered back gently and reassuringly.

"So i wont hurt her if i touch her?" said Grace looking over to where her mother lay.

"No of course not, in fact I'm sure it'll help her feel better."

"But she's unconscious she doesn't know I'm here."

"She knows that your here. She may not be able to answer you or react to you but she knows your here. Why don't you talk to her, tell her how you feel or whats happening in your life." Grace moved closer to her mother and sat on the chair that Tess had placed moments ago after finishing replacing the bandages.

Grace reached out for Connie's hand hovering over it at first in hesitation but then taking it in her own rubbing her finger soothingly on the back of Connie's hand. Elliot joined Tess and Zoe who were stood by the doors giving the young girl a bit of privacy.

"This is horrible." Zoe stated to the two stood at her side. "She shouldn't have to see this" she continued rubbing her eyes to rid the tears that threatened to fall.

"I suppose its when it hits home that you understand what relatives feel at times like this. The helplessness." Tess replied. "I mean i know were not relatives but the team feels like a family. Even if we don't like members of our family half the time we still pull together to support them when something happens. It's because we care."

"I know Connie can be hard to deal with but she does have a good heart and does look out for those that she cares for and the team that shes part of. Connie's not like any other human being shes been through things that have shaped her into the person she is today. The facade she puts on is her coping mechanism i hope you know that." Elliot said looking at the two women.

"We know." Zoe replied with Tess nodding in agreement. "I suppose seeing Grace with her as well helps us understand and see the real Connie." They stopped talking as a small voice came from the direct of the bed.

"I made a Den in your office with Zoe the other day." Grace said staring at her mothers hand in her own. "We had fun, I can see why you like her." That made Zoe smile the thought of the clinical lead actually admitting that she liked her, she was certainly going to bring that up when Connie woke up. "Lofty bought me some lunch this morning too, the sandwich was weird and wasn't all that good but you told me not to be rude when people give you things so i ate it and said thank you." Grace looked up from their joined hands to her mothers cut and bruised face. "Please wake up. Theres so many things i need to tell you and say sorry for. Jessica at boarding school stole my locket that you gave me and threw it into the lake, thats the reason why i took all of her clothes outside and set fire to them. Thats why i got suspended. I didn't want to tell you because i was embarrassed. Her and her group of friends have been bullying me since the start of the school new year. I have no friends i just study and wait to hear from you or dad. The money that was taken from your room last month was me not the maid. I don't know why i took it and i was going to put it back but you'd already started shouting and accusing the maid and fired her before i had chance to put it back." Grace was in floods of tears at this point prompting Elliot to approach and try to comfort the child. Grace however shrugged this attempt of comfort off. "Im not finished!" She shouted loudly shocking herself at the loudness of her voice. Elliot quickly recovered from the outburst.

"Grace lets go outside for some fresh air." he said softly.

"No I'm staying with mum i have other things to apologise for that i need her to know."

"Your mother wouldn't want to see you this way, she wouldn't want you to be upset like this." Elliot replied trying to calm the young girl down.

"We were suppose to be watching a film tonight i was going to tell her that i wanted to come home. That i wanted to spend more time with her and now she not going to wake up." At this point Grace was now sobbing into the nape of Elliot's neck. Elliot rubbed Grace's back as her mother would do when she was upset.

"Its ok Grace. Everything is going to be ok."

The door was forcibly pushed open making Grace jump from Elliot's arms. At first the pair were angry at the interruption and both Tess and Zoe began walking toward the person that was the cause with the purpose to remove him from the room. However, before the pair could reach the man Grace leaped into his open arms.

"Dad! I'm so glad your here!" Grace shouted into his chest still sobbing as she had previously.

"I would have been here sooner princess but the plane was delayed. Hows your mum?"

"Mr Strachan. I'm Doctor Hannah I rang you to inform you of Mrs Beauchamp's condition." Zoe stated making those final steps in approaching the man.

"Please its Sam." He said shaking Zoe's hand while still holding his daughter in a tight hug "Hows she doing?"

"She's stable but still critical. We're waiting for her to wake up to review her condition. We're keeping a close eye on her."

"How did this happen? We talked the morning the day you rang and everything was fine."

"Connie was involved in a major RTC with a number of other members of this hospital. Unfortunately Connie was in the seat that took the most of the impact, when the vehicle rolled she got trapped. Our major concern after she wakes is the function that she has in her damaged arm that was crushed. Until she wakes though we wont know what the situation is with that."

"Thank you." Sam said before he focused his attention over to the mother of his child. Elliot stood by her beside once Sam had greeted him and thanked him for his help he sat on the chair Grace had been sat on moments before. He placed Grace on his lap.

"We're going to be here when you wake up Connie." Sam said out loud. "Both me and Grace are going to be here." he reiterated taking Connie's hand in his own.

With that Elliot, Tess and Zoe left the room giving the three the space that they needed and the time to grow that bond that had been damaged through the distance that had been between them.

**I hope you guys are still reading I'm not the best with updates (bit of an understatement!) lemme know what your thinking about this story**.


	9. Chapter 9

"Who's the good looking guy that keeps visiting Mrs B?" Robyn asked Lofty who was in the process of sorting paperwork out into two separate piles.

"Good looking? Didn't know he was your type Robyn maybe you should introduce yourself." Lofty replied still concentrating on the paper work but smirking at the stern look on his friends face.

"You don't think that they're a couple do you?" Robyn asked after a moments silence whilst taking some papers from Lofty's ever growing pile and moving them to the pile they should be in.

"Mrs. B have a fella you've got to be kidding, most men would run a mile." Just as Lofty finished his sentence Robyn looked up to see both Zoe and an older woman stood behind him.

"Now you wouldn't be talking about Mrs Beauchamp would you?" Zoe asked arms crossed over her stomach.

"I didn't mean anything by it!" Lofty burst out turning to face the pair.

"You ought to be ashamed of yourselves." the older woman shouted. "Connie is lying in a bed recovering from what could have been a life ending accident and your gossiping about her love life. It's disgusting!"

"Audrey I can only apologise for my colleagues comments." Zoe said softly before turning back to face both Lofty and Robyn "This is Mrs Stachan, Grace's grandmother." Zoe raised an eyebrow to the pair and narrowed her eyes hinting at what they should say.

"We apologise for our insensitivity Mrs Stachan it was only because we know so little about Mrs Beauchamp's personal life." Robyn stated sincerely.

"Well maybe she has good reason to with people like you two filling out your time with gossip. Can we go see her now please Zoe." Audrey's tone was dry and harsh it reminded them of Connie and how she'd talk to them when she was reprimanding them.

"Of course. Lofty, Mrs Beauchamp's notes please." With that Lofty handed the notes over to Zoe who headed towards Connie's bed closely followed by the older woman.

Audrey entered the room which was occupied by Connie and was greeted by both her son and granddaughter.

"How's my beautiful granddaughter?" Audrey said lifting the young girl up in the air and hugging her.

"Grandma I've missed you!" Grace shouted back happily.

"Mother." Sam said with a smile.

"Hello son. How is she?" Audrey asked looking sadly towards Connie.

"She's improving. Were just waiting for her to wake up to see the scale of her injuries."

"And hows this one holding up? She whispered indicating towards Grace.

"I can hear you you know." Grace stated loudly looking up with a frown.

"Just like her mother." both Audrey and Sam said at once making Grace's frown turn into a small giggle.

The sound of the heart rate machine rapidly beeping drew there attention and before they knew it doctors and nurses were surrounding Connie's bed.

"Mum!" Grace shouted. Before she could begin approaching her mother Sam put his hand out to stop her.

"Could you take her outside mother?" Sam asking quickly.

"Of course" Audrey replied worriedly taking Grace by the arm and marching her out of the room.

Sam overheard Zoe tell Rita that an infection had set in which in turn had caused Connie's irregular heart rate. Zoe looked over to Sam who was staring blankly at Connie.

"Sam?" She asked trying to get his attention. "Sam." she repeated. The second time caught his attention.

"Yeah, sorry." He answered quietly.

"Were going to shock her to try and regulate her heart rate." Zoe informed him.

"Yeah anything that'll help."

The paddles were placed on her chest which were followed by a shock. There was a short pause.

"No change, lets try again." Zoe stated. "Shocking."

The beeping slowed and then went back to a steady beat.

"Ok heart rate is regularised. Thanks everybody."

Zoe removed the pads that had been placed on Connie's chest and lifted her gown back up.

"These things happen." Zoe spoke after everyone else left.

"They don't happen to Connie." Sam replied simply. "These things don't happen to her. I've never seen her like this, so vulnerable. Grace is happy to see me but i've not been a proper father to her. I've hardly seen her at all in the last two years. How am i supposed to cope if she doesn't wake up."

"Your her dad Sam, she knows that. She knows you care, she knows you live in America and how difficult it is for you to see her. She understands." Zoe placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be ok."

"I've got so many things running through my head. Things like taking responsibility for Grace if Connie dies. She'd have to move to America with me, make new friends and start a new school. She'd..." Sam's sentence was halted by the coughing of the individual that was lying on bed. Zoe rushed to her side and took hold of Connie's hand that was trying to remove the breathing tube that was in her throat.

"Hey it's ok let me do that." Zoe spoke soothingly. She slowly removed the breathing tube from Connie's throat which in turn made Connie gag and cough.

"Your not taking my daughter to America" Connie said weakly once then breathing tube had been fully removed. Both Zoe and Sam laughed.

"It's good to see you too." Sam said.

"It must have been serious if your here." Connie stated as she tried to sit up. A stabbing pain at the centre of her chest stopped her in her tracks and made her wince.

"Nope no moving, Doctors orders." Zoe said pushing her patient back down onto the bed. "You've got a few broken ribs so i wouldn't move if i was you. You gave us all quite a scare you know."

"Sorry." Connie replied still feeling the pain from moving before.

"How are you feeling?" Sam asked.

"Confused. In pain. Embarrassed. You name it I'm probably feeling it." Connie answered. Her attention suddenly directed towards Zoe. "How's everyone else did they make it?"

"Everyones fine. Ethan was discharged the other day and is recovering well, he's even let Cal move in with him to help him get better quicker. They've all been here for you, most of them have visited everyday since the accident. In fact they've been visiting you instead of working which i had to put a stop to."

"They didn't have to do that." Connie said unsure how to respond to the love and concern she was receiving.

"People care about you Connie you just need to let them." Sam spoke up.

The double doors to the room flung open revealing a very happy looking Grace and a happy looking Audrey.

"Mum your awake!" Grace shouted running towards her bedside. "Do you hurt?" she asked.

"Just a little baby but a gentle hug would be nice." Connie replied giving her daughter a toothy smile. Grace needed no second invitation and enveloped her mother into a hug.

"I was so scared that you wouldn't wake up."

"And leave you to drive your dad mad, never." Connie said tightening the hug slightly until the pain was unbearable. "I love you, you know that?" Connie asked rubbing her daughters back.

"I love you too mum. Did you hear me talking to you when you were asleep?" Grace asked curiously.

"Something about boarding school? My memory is a little patchy but i'll remember. We'll talk about it later." Connie knew what her daughter was talking about but didn't want to bring it up in front of everyone else in the room. They'd know that she didn't know her own daughter was being bullied and that she'd been a terrible mother. Grace released her mother from the hug and jumped down off the side of the bed.

"I'm glad your on the mend Connie." Said Audrey in her not so usual dry tone.

"Yeah glad to see you getting better Connie." Said Sam somewhat awkwardly. He knew she didn't want him to be there and was afraid that she'd send him packing straight away. He cared deeply about her but he didn't know how to tell her in fear of her shutting him down and telling him how stupid he was that he'd ever have a chance with her again. After all he was only a 'sperm donor'.

"Thank you. Both of you" she said looking at Sam and giving him a small smile. Zoe could see the effect that all these conversation were having on Connie so decided to give her the time she needed to recover.

"Ok guys i know you want to catch up and talk but Connie needs her rest now. She's still got a lot of recovering to do." Zoe indicated for the group to leave the room which was received by a number of grumbles from Grace, however, when her mother nodded her head in agreement with Zoe she kissed Connie on the forehead and followed Sam and Audrey out of the room. "Love you mum!" she shouted before the doors closed behind her.

Zoe headed towards the doors too "Great to have you back Connie" she said winking at her colleague then leaving the room.

'Is it?' Connie thought to herself looking down at her injured arm "Only time will tell" she spoke out loud to the empty room before giving into her exhaustion and drifting off to sleep.

**Woohoo I had some spare time so decided to conjure up a new chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it! **


	10. Chapter 10 - Concluded

**Hi guys I know you've had to wait a ridiculous amount of time for this chapter which is in fact the last installment! I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing the whole story. **

Four days had gone by, Connie was still bed ridden and was situated in the same place from when she woke up. Grace and Sam had visited many times in fact they'd hardly left her side which was a surprise due to the fact that she thought Grace and Sam would want to spend some quality time together. Grace had brought her home made cookies which were a god sent as the hospital food was much to be desired. There relationship had been great the last few days, they hadn't argued which was surprising with not having much to do in a hospital. Connie had begun to get frustrated with the Nurses that kept disturbing her slumber but other than thst she'd surprising stayed quite calm and relaxed, maybe it was the break she needed. Connie was brought from her thoughts by the opening of her room doors.

"How's the patient today?" Zoe asked approaching Connie with Tess, Charlie and Elliot.

"Better I think." Connie responded with a small smile. She wasn't feeling one hundred percent but she was feeling a lot better. Physically that is.

"Well your obs are improving and you've certainly got a lot of colour back in your face." Zoe stated smiling while checking through Connie's notes. Charlie approached Connie's bedside and handed her a drink of water.

"Thank you." Connie said taking the drink from his hand. He noticed the unsteadiness of her taking the glass and the way her hand shook whilst bringing it up to her mouth. He made a move to help her but she flinched away "I can manage." she stated a little louder than she expected. Charlie put his hands up defensively.

"Only trying to help." He said whilst backing away.

"I know. I'm sorry, i just want things to get back to the way they were. I want to be strong again." She said lookimg down at her injured arm.

"That will happen with time Connie. You took the biggest blow out of all of us in fact its a miracle your still alive and in one piece. You'll be back on your feet and giving out commands to all of us in no time." said Tess trying to comfort the clinical lead. Connie smiled, it was nice to know that they cared but that didn't help her heal quicker.

"Dr Spence will be down to remove your bandage on your arm to assess the damage." Zoe announced. Connie's face went pale with dread. It was soon time to find out whether she'd be able to continue working as a Doctor and Surgeon.

"In the meantime both Grace and Sam are outside I'll send them in."

Zoe had only left the room two seconds and Grace had come barging in closely followed by Sam who looked liked he hadn't slept much at all. Elliot sat on the chair next to her bed and placed an excited Grace on his knee. Charlie and Tess busied themselves checking Connie's paperwork and readings on the monitor. Sam just lingered unsure as to what to do or say.

"Zoe said that you might be able to leave today." Grace stated happily.

"I don't know about that Gracie. I cant really take care of myself at the minute, maybe in a few more days." Connie said with disappointment. She had to be real with her daughter and not let her linger on false hope.

"About you going home." Sam stated. Connie frowned slightly at his apprehension but he continued before she could interrupt. "I was thinking that maybe i take you home today and look after you. Until you get better that is. That way i can make sure that Grace is looked after too."

"Sam honestly i can wait a few more days you don't have to go out of your way to look after me." Connie replied with appreciation.

"Connie it's not out of my way. You know how i feel about.." Connie brought up her good hand to stop him.

"Sam don't." She didn't want to talk about this in front of her daughter let alone Elliot and some of her colleagues.

"Mum please come home today. It would be nice to wake up and have breakfast with both you and dad together." Grace's comments were sweet yet it filled the room full of awkwardness. Charlie and Tess didn't know where to look they'd finished the observations but didn't want to make it look like they were leaving just because of what was happening.

Connie didn't have the heart or strength to tell the girl no so just settled with the 'I'll think about it' trick, which in Grace's eyes was actually a yes. Before the conversation could continue Michael entered with Zoe.

"How's my favourite patient doing?" Michael asked.

"I just want to get this over with." She replied honestly.

"Why don't you go see Grandma in reception?" Sam told Grace.

Before she could protest Elliot lifted her up and whispered something about sweets after that she went out without a fuss.

The remaining people moved to the end of Connie's bed hoping for positive results.

Michael moved to the side of her bed and started unraveling the bandage that had been on her arm for the last 4 days. With the bandage off the group could see the extent of the damage. A large, nearly healed scar started from the top of her wrist and ended at her elbow joint. The scar was ugly the group at the end of the bed couldn't hide the horrified looks on their faces.

"Now Connie it may be painful but i need you to take my hand in your own and squeeze." Michael said placing his hand closer to her own. With hesitation at first she reached for his hand the air touching her wound felt strange but soothing. She squeezed his hand in her own as hard as she could until the pain was too great.

"Well?" Connie ask after she let go.

"Now wiggle each finger one by one." Michael instructed.

She did as he asked and waited for him to speak. Within a few moments he looked up at her and smiled. "You are one lucky lady Mrs Beauchamp. It looks like your going to be fine. Your hand is a little weak at the minute but with a few physiotherapy sessions you should get 90% of your strength back in your hand." Michael concluded his assessment and allowed Sam to come to her side.

"Does that mean i should be able to work without any problems?" Connie asked Michael.

"Yes. I don't see you having any major problems that would effect your work. Just lay off the heart surgeries for a while eh?" Connie smiled at the small joke but the relief was clear on her face. Sam however still had a worried look on his face.

"And the scar?" Sam asked. Connie wasn't really too bothered about the scar, although it didn't look pretty it wouldn't effect her work.

"I'm afraid the scar won't get much better than that. It'll fade slightly with time and I could possibly operate to make it look neater."

"No more surgeries." Connie stated bluntly. "I can live with the scar I don't want another operation that could lead to more complications." Sam nodded in acknowledgement and gave her a small smile.

"Now leave that bandage off for a while give it some air and then in a few hours if you Tess could re-bandage it for me." Tess nodded in agreement. "Well thats settled then, my work here is done."

"Thank you Michael. I couldn't have had two better surgeons." Connie said Full of appreciation. With that Michael left giving Connie a kiss on the forehead as he left. Michael was followed by Tess and Charlie after they'd given Connie their well wishes.

"So." Sam said breaking the silence. "Are you coming home tonight?" he asked.

"You know you could really do with leaving this hospital a while it'll send you mad" Zoe stated giving Sam as much back up as she could.

"Sam don't you think it's strange with our past and I don't want to send the wrong signals to Grace that your moving back over here." Connie was very hesitant in letting Sam stay at her house. They hadn't been together for long periods of time since Grace was conceived. After Grace was born they hardly talked just the odd text to arrange visits.

"About America. I'm moving back here. When I got the call about you it made me realised that America wasn't actually my home, my home is with my family, it's with you and Grace." Sam had gone all teary eyed, it was as though he'd been waiting to say this for a long long time.

"Sam what are you saying?" Connie asked in surprise. Zoe just stood there with a smile on her face taking a slight step back to give them a little more space.

"I want us to try again. We never really tried in the first place and that was probably my fault i didn't try hard enough. I want to look after you. I still love you Connie." Sam now clasped Connie's hands in his own.

"I.." Connie stuttered this was all so much of a shock to her. She knew she still had feelings for him although she wouldn't admit it out loud due to her pride. Grace was her main concern she did't want to confuse her daughter. "I suppose we could try again. But I don't want Grace knowing until we know it's going to be serious."

"Connie I promise this time we'll work." Sam stated with a wide smile. He hugged the small brunette. Although it was so long ago she remembered the smell of him all too clearly. 'I think this will work' she thought to herself 'maybe it wasn't such a bad day out after all' as none of this would have happened had it not.

**And that's it! So glad I finally finished this. Now onto the next one! Please don't forget to leave a review just a short opinion about the story as a whole** :)


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